Lyons should have stuck with bidding process for Las Cruces land, rejected PAC money tied to developer

By |

State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons told the Las Cruces Sun-News on Friday that his office made a mistake in agreeing in December to lease thousands of acres to developer Philip Philippou. He says he should have waited another month to sign the contract. That’s because he chose to seek bids for the state land and then, a little more than a month before the proposals were due, signed two contracts giving Philippou the lease on thousands of acres on Las Cruces’ north and east sides. Several factors add to the appearance of something suspicious. Lyons signed the contracts the week of Christmas when no one was watching. Continue Reading

Richardson gains in newest Nevada poll, but shifting primary calendar means he needs to climb faster

By |

A week after a poll showed support for Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential run jump in Iowa, another finds him creeping up in Nevada. The new poll has Richardson at 6 percent in Nevada – better than the 2-3 percent reflected in previous polls, but still far short of any of the frontrunners in the race to be the Democrats’ 2008 presidential nominee. Last week, a poll showed support for Richardson in Iowa jump from 1 percent to 5 percent. The Nevada poll, conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had Hillary Clinton way ahead of everyone else with 37 percent. It had John Edwards at 13 percent and Barack Obama at 12 percent. Continue Reading

Councilor wants peer to abstain on development vote

By |

Las Cruces City Councilor Ken Miyagishima will ask one of his peers to abstain from voting on annexation and master-plan approval of The Vistas at Presidio later this month. Councilor Gil Jones disclosed at a meeting last month a relationship he has with the man who wants to develop 6,000 acres on the East Mesa. Jones’ brother and Philip Philippou are married to sisters. Councilors are scheduled to vote on the development at their May 21 meeting. In an e-mail sent Sunday to a listserve he maintains, Miyagishima wrote that he has known Jones for several years, and said he’s “very intelligent” and “hard working.” “However, on May 21, 2007 at our city council meeting, I will be asking Councilor Gil Jones to abstain from voting on this annexation,” Miyagishima wrote. Continue Reading

City considers annexing 8,400 acres on West Mesa

By |

Las Cruces city councilors are set to begin considering today what would be the largest annexation in the city’s history. The proposed Kennon annexation includes almost 8,400 acres of land on the West Mesa of the city. While most annexations are sought by developers, this annexation proposal was initiated by the city. Mayor Bill Mattiace has pushed for years for development on the mostly desolate West Mesa, where land is cheaper than other areas and affordable housing is feasible. In addition, development on that side of the city helps with the plan to grow the city’s West Mesa Industrial Park and connect it with a bypass highway to Santa Teresa’s industrial park in the south and Spaceport America in the north. Continue Reading

Most voters in poll dislike Pearce’s performance

By |

The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site disapprove of the job Steve Pearce is doing as a U.S. congressman. Of 169 voters, 110, or 65 percent, said they disapprove, while 49, or 29 percent, said they approve, and 10, or 6 percent, said they don’t know. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Richardson has casual chat with California bloggers

By |

During his recent trip to California, Gov. Bill Richardson talked with liberal bloggers about a number of topics. The following videos are raw and reveal a very casual sit-down he had with the bloggers. It’s hard to hear Richardson, so you might have to crank up your volume. The video was taken by the group Working Californians. Here’s video of him talking about California issues, health care, education and balancing budgets. Continue Reading

Clinton takes up guv’s proposal to de-authorize war

By |

Now that President Bush has vetoed a funding bill that would have set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, Sen. Hillary Clinton proposed Thursday that Congress repeal the authority it gave Bush to invade Iraq. It’s not a new idea. In fact, Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary, Gov. Bill Richardson, has been saying for quite some time that’s what should be done. The New York Times gave Richardson credit, too. In today’s article about Clinton’s proposal, the Times notes that Richardson, “beating Mrs. Clinton to the punch,” sent out a news release Tuesday calling for the de-authorization of the war and a schedule for a rapid withdrawal of troops. Continue Reading

County begins broadcasting meetings on the Internet

By |

Internet access and a set of speakers will now give Doña Ana County residents a front-row seat to meetings and work sessions held in the county government center’s commission chambers. The Doña Ana County information technology department has begun broadcasting real-time audio of public meetings over the Internet. To access the audio feed, go to donaanacounty.org/listen during the posted meeting times. The Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. The next meeting is on Tuesday. Work sessions and special meetings are announced in advance on the county’s home page, donaanacounty.org. Continue Reading

Domenici can’t seem to get a break

By |

U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici just can’t get a break. Already under fire for his role in the U.S. attorney scandal, he was slammed by a Bloomberg.com columnist yesterday for arriving late to the funeral of a Washington lobbyist. At Jack Valenti’s funeral on Tuesday, former Time magazine White House correspondent Margaret Carlson wrote, Domenici arrived 20 minutes late. It was the exact moment the funeral procession began. “Like most senators, Domenici isn’t used to waiting even for the deceased,” Carlson wrote. Continue Reading

GOP debate: 10 Anglo men talk about morality

By |

The 10 Republican candidates for president were asked a number of more substantive questions on issues relating to morality during Thursday night’s debate than Democrats had to face a week ago. Their answers were pointed, moderator Chris Matthews was snappy and, overall, I thought the debate was more interesting than the Democrats’ recent contest. However, one stark contrast was the fact that those who took part were all men – 10 Anglo men. Democrats have a woman, a Black man, a Hispanic man and, in the words of Jon Stewart, a leprechaun (Dennis Kucinich). The difference was quite pronounced when we got to see all the Democrats together and then all the Republicans together. Continue Reading

Criticism of Lyons continues over Cruces land deal

By |

The criticism of state Land Commissioner Pat Lyons’ deal with a Las Cruces developer is continuing. In a column published earlier this week in several newspapers around the state, Ned Cantwell slamed Lyons for taking campaign contributions from a political action committee that is run by two men, one of them a lobbyist for the developer who gave the money to the PAC. The sticky point is that Lyons then gave the developer two leases on thousands of acres of state land around Las Cruces. In case you missed it, you can find the details by clicking here. What’s infuriating, Cantwell wrote, is Lyons’ assertion that he didn’t know the PAC money came from the developer. Continue Reading

Group creates Web site on East Mesa development

By |

The group that has tried to put speed bumps in front of approval of a 6,000-acre development on Las Cruces’ East Mesa has set up a Web site to promote its cause. The group calls itself the Quality Growth Alliance. Developers of The Vistas at Presidio would say the group opposes the development. The group’s leaders have said they aren’t opponents, but want to ensure the development is done right. They say they want to slow the process and allow for more input. Continue Reading

Former Justice official says Iglesias did a good job

By |

The former No. 2 in the Justice Department said today he thought David Iglesias, former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, was a competent attorney he would not have fired. In fact, James B. Comey told a House Judiciary subcommittee, Iglesias was a “very straight, very able” attorney, the Albuquerque Tribune is reporting. He said he thought only one of eight U.S. attorneys fired last year was weak and should have been fired. The former deputy attorney general, who left in August 2005 to work for Lockheed Martin, said he worked with Iglesias on an initiative to target crime in violent neighborhoods, the Tribune reported. Continue Reading

Officials haven’t recovered UP Aerospace rocket

By |

Officials haven’t yet retrieved the UP Aerospace rocket that successfully flew into space on Saturday, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting. The rocket landed in the mountains on White Sands Missile Range and is difficult to reach. The area has had thunderstorms in the last few days (a tornado hit the ground near WSMR yesterday), which has also hampered efforts, the Sun-News reported. The company located the rocket booster on Monday, but hasn’t been able to reach it yet. The location of the payload portion of the rocket is known because of a tracking device placed on board, but it’s a small object, and spotting it with a helicopter has proven difficult. The area isn’t accessible even with four-wheel-drive vehicles, so a recovery team will try to transport the rocket out of the mountainous area using a helicopter, the newspaper reported. Continue Reading

GOP presidential candidates to square off tonight

By |

The first debate of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates is tonight at 6 p.m. You can watch it live on MSNBC or on the Internet at The Politico’s Web site. I won’t be covering it as thoroughly as I did the recent Democratic debate since our governor isn’t one of the participants. But I’ll have coverage in the morning, and I wanted to give you the links to be able to check it out tonight. In addition, you can submit questions through The Politico’s Web site that might be asked of the candidates tonight. Click here to do it. Continue Reading